State: Former high school athletic director owes $5,750 for missing funds

COLUMBUS – A former athletic director owes the Talawanda City School District (Butler County) $5,750 for ticket revenue and change funds that went missing, according to an audit released Tuesday by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

The district collected $62,388 in ticket revenue from 71 high school athletic events from August 2014 to April 2015, but the amount deposited in the school district’s bank account totaled only $57,075 – a shortage of $5,313.

“More eyes mean fewer financial discrepancies,” Yost said. “By adding an extra one or two people to the review process, every organization can vastly improve its odds of catching errors and preventing fraud before it’s too late.”

Former athletic director Jamie Mahaffey was in charge of counting ticket revenue and preparing ticket sale reports for the events. On May 22, 2015, the district placed him on administrative leave and later identified an additional shortage of $437 from the athletic department’s change fund, the district’s source of change for ticket purchases at athletic events.

Auditors issued $5,750 in findings for recovery against Mahaffey, who resigned from the district on Sept. 9, 2015. The findings were referred to the Office of the Butler County Prosecutor.

Mahaffey played college basketball for Miami University in the early 1990s.